Year 2016 Tech News in a Quiz
It’s that time of the year when we recap some of the major everyday technologies of the outgoing year in Questions and Answers. The answers to most of the questions can be found in various articles that appeared in this column over the course of the year. The answers are also provided at the end […]
It’s that time of the year when we recap some of the major everyday technologies of the outgoing year in Questions and Answers. The answers to most of the questions can be found in various articles that appeared in this column over the course of the year. The answers are also provided at the end of this article.
The Questions
1)Raymond Tomlinson passed away on 5 March 2016. He is known for inventing: (a) World Wide Web, (b) Internet, (c) LinkedIn, (d) Email
2)This device can intercept your phone call, grab the identification number of your phone, switch your connection to its own local network, take control of your phone, thereby disconnecting you from your service provider (MTN, GLO, etc.): (a) Phone Service Grabber, (b) Stingray, (c) Call Switcher, (d) None of the above, (e) All of the above
3)What is Hololens?
4)Functionally speaking, iPhone SE is not very different from iPhone 6S Plus even though it costs half as much: (a) True, (b) False
5)Samsung is developing its own operating system (OS), which the company probably hopes will one day compete with Android. The name of the OS is (a) Samsung Linux, (b) Samsung Unix, (c) Samsung Windows, (d) TmaxOS, (e) Ubuntu
6)This European country with a population of almost 10 million is considered by some as the innovation and high tech capital of Europe. Which country is this? (a) United Kingdom, (b) Germany, (c) Belgium, (d) None of the above
7)This high tech company acquired LinkedIn about the middle of this year. Which company is this? (a) Amazon, (b) Apple, (c) IBM, (d) Microsoft
8)Which is the odd one out in this list? (a) Ethos (b) Cortana, (c) Alexa, (d) Siri
9)The following can easily be considered the computer game of 2016: (a) Poker, (b) Pokemon Go, (c) Dart, (d) Scramble
10)This could be considered Android’s answer to Face Time: (a) Google’s Duo, (b) WhatsApp Video, (c) Video on Demand, (d) None of the Above
11)Facebook’s Internet.org project has the following objective: (a) Supplying free Wi-Fi to Africa, Middle East, and Europe, (b) Providing email service to Haiti, (c) Developing websites for poor countries free of charge
12)The production and sale of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was halted because of a problem with the battery of the phone which caused the phone to burst into flames: (a) True, (b) False
13)In this kind of grocery store, there are no lines, no check outs, and no registers. Just grab what you want to buy from the store and leave: (a) Google’s Magic Grocery Store, (b) Microsoft Voodoo Grocery Store, (c) Amazon Go, (d) None of the Above
14)This Android app allows you to determine peoples’ locations at any point in time: (a) Trusted Contacts, (b) Find My Friends, (c) Face Time, (d) Locate My Buddy, (e) None of the Above
15)What is Google’s Tango?
16)This OS turned 30 this year: (a) iOS, (b) Linux, (c) Unix, (d) Microsoft Windows
17)After many years of struggling, BlackBerry finally turned its phone business around, making a record as the most spectacular business turnaround in history: (a) True, (b) False
18)What is Google’s Pixel?
19)Google is to Baidu as YouTube is to what? (a) Alibaba, (b) Huawei, (c) Youku, (d) Sina, (e) Weibo, (f) None of the Above
20)This company revealed middle of September 2016 that the accounts of up to 500 million of its customers were hacked in 2014. Then about a month ago, it revealed again that another 1 billion accounts might have been hacked. Which company is this? (a) SalesForce, (b) Google, (c) Microsoft, (d) Lenovo, (e) None of the Above.
21)A report published in November 2016 by the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention informs on the rapid rise in suicide rates among American people; with some people pointing accusing fingers at Facebook: (a) True, (b) False
22)It is possible that frequent use of cell phones can cause cancer in humans: (a) True, (b) False, (c) Only in children
The Answers
1 (d); 2 (b); 3) Microsoft’s headgear for Augmented Reality; 4 (a); 5 (d); 6 (d) – The country is Sweden; 7 (d); 8 (a) – All the others are digital assistants; 9 (b); 10 (a); 11 (a); 12 (a); 13 (c); 14 (a); 15 The name of Google’s project on Augmented Reality; 16 (d); 17 (b) – False. Blackberry failed to turn its phone business around. Starting from February 2017, phones bearing the name BlackBerry will now be owned by the Indonesian company Merah Putih – now BB Merah Putih. Mera Putih will pay royalty for using the BlackBerry name; 18 Google’s high-end smartphone – the company’s answer to the iPhones and the Galaxies; 19 (c); 20 (e) – The company is Yahoo; 21 (a) – True; some experts accuse the Facebook platform of helping teenagers end their lives; 22 (a).